E3 2014: Hands-on with Forza Horizon 2

I only raced one track in Forza Horizon 2, but that sliver of play spoke volumes about the upcoming open-world racing title. The route I sped down took me from the Tuscan hillsides to narrow cliffside roads before spilling onto a Mediterranean seaside village.

I took the trip twice. Once in a Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 and a Nissan GT-R Black Edition. The Huracan was squirrely as heck while the Nissan took the corners better but lagged behind the faster vehicles. At its core, the game sits exactly where the previous one did, that is to say it’s not a full-blown sim and also not Burnout clone. Forza Horizon 2 has its arcade elements with rewards for nailing a drift or daring driving, and at the same time, the vehicles in the world are based in franchise’s renowned physics engined.Forza Horizon 2 still has that festival of driving theme but this time it takes place in Europe.
But the big differences this time around is that Playground Games and company added weather effects to the day-night cycle. The two together produce some gorgeous moments during the race. I was offroading in the Huracan, that’s a weird feeling, during sunset, and that transitioned to a downpour as the track hugged a cliffside.

The weather had a tremendous effect on a car’s maneuverability. It slipped more on corners and what’s more the problems with the rain continued afterward. With the roads still slick, I had to adjust how I drove and took corners. Drive too fast and I’d have no traction and slam into the guard rail. Take the corner too slow and everyone would pass me. It’ll take time to adjust to the changing conditions.

Suffice to say, I crashed more often than I liked, and even though I did rewind a few times, the weather played so much havoc on my route that I bit the bullet and suffered coming in 12th place. But despite my failures, Forza Horizon 2 was fun and it has me excited for its Sept. 30 launch on the Xbox One.